Fire in You
by nxbxdys.bxtch
Summary: Takes place right after episode seven. Enjoy! ATTENTION: I added to the first chapter of this story because I felt like it was too short. So basically, I added what chapter two would've been to chapter one. Thanks! ATTENTION 2: so I added more to chapter one but this will be the only addition left I promise!


Alone is all he could feel. Not the gash on his face, not the ground crumbling below him: just the loneliness that surrounded him. He laid his head back in the snow, his eyes closed, and let the feeling overcome him. His eyes slowly opened and he was presented with the hundreds of retreating ships that littered the sky as he began to wonder when they would come for him. He then began to think that he didn't deserve to be rescued. That the man struck down by a scavenger from Jakku should just be left to die.

Frantically, two stormtroopers approached him and helped him to his feet. They supported him as they sped to the main retreat ship. The two were shouting and swearing back and forth, but he paid no attention. That's when he began to see his father. He would be standing among the trees or pleading for help as he fell into the many crevasses that were formed. No matter where he was though, he would be staring at him-Ben. He shut his eyes tight, but that only made it worse. He started to see the look in his father's eyes and feel his hand on his cheek.

"_Sir,_" He was finally yanked from his own imagination. He then looked over at the trooper in question. "Sorry to yell, but we need to get you to the infirmary." Ben then realized that he had stopped himself at the base of the star destroyer. He swallowed and let them walk him up the ramp to the hangar. Aboard the ship, Ben broke away from the stormtrooper and began to limp away. Several people tried to approach him and help him to the infirmary, but he pushed them all away. He limped all the way to his quarters and quickly shut the door behind him.

He took a few deep breaths before activating his lightsaber and tearing through several objects and areas of his quarters. After everything was in shambles, he threw his saber at the ground and dropped to his knees. Tears began to stream down his face and wouldn't stop. However, he couldn't feel anything except for the slight sting coming from the tears that soaked his wound on his cheek. But at least it was something.

Suddenly, he heard the door to his quarters open then close. He quickly climbed to his feet to see his uninvited guest. General Hux entered the room rather frantically.

"I didn't say to come in," Ben said coldly. Hux's face tensed slightly.

"I've been knocking for several minutes, sir, you gave me no choice," Hux responded.

"You're only supposed to barge in if it's an emergency." Hux furrowed his eyebrows.

"Have you seen yourself?" Hux spat. "You need to go to the infirmary." Ben remained silent and stared daggers into Hux.

"Are your wounds from the girl?" Hux asked quietly. Ben slowly looked away from Hux.

"She's strong with the force."

"That's no excuse, Ren," Hux said. "And now you've let her escape without the map to Skywalker." Ben clenched his fists tightly and tensed his face.

"Don't tell me you're becoming weak because if you are you'll need to take that up with Snoke. I'm disappointed in you, Ren. You're supposed to be _Kylo Ren_. You're supposed to be a_ leader_. How you be a leader when-" Hux's throat was then closed off violently and he was lifted off his feet. He tried to gasp for air, but nothing came through. He put his hands to his own throat as if to pry the choking hands away, but even he knew that was senseless.

"**_Just shut up_**!" Ben yelled, arm still outstretched towards the pathetic sight. Hux tried to plead at him to stop but to no avail. All that came out were incoherent grunts. Through his darkened vision he could see the long stream of tears falling from Ben's eyes. Then with a growl, Ben dropped his hand to his side causing Hux to fall to the ground on his stomach. He coughed violently and gasped for air. Ben simply stared at the man on the ground as he regained the ability to breathe. Hux looked up angrily then got up slowly.

"What's gotten into you Ren?" Hux said rather calmly before walking out of Ben's quarters, leaving him alone once again.

Hux stormed through the halls of the star destroyer to get to his quarters. He cursed them for being so far away. Many people tried to stop him on the way, trying to find out their next course of action, but Hux ignored them. Once he arrived at his quarters, he quickly shut the door and stormed to the bathroom. He ran the sink and splashed several handfuls of ice-cold water on his face, still hot with anger. The water was shocking, yet soothing. He then grabbed a rag hanging next to him and dried his face.

After setting the rag aside, he was met with his reflection in the mirror. He stared at the man in the mirror as if he'd never met him before. The longer he stared, the angrier he became. He knew he was the reason for Ren's outburst. He just never knows when to bite his tongue. His hands gripped the side of the sink tighter until his knuckles turned white. He let his anger for the man in the mirror build until it finally boiled over. He let out a wail and threw his fist into the mirror. Hux's reflection was now broken and disfigured. It felt better this way.

Hux pulled his fist away, some pieces of glass falling and clattering against the porcelain. That's when the pain began to swell in his knuckles. He exhaled through his teeth and tried to extend his fingers, but winced at the sharp pain as a result. There were a few small pieces of glass sticking out of his pale skin between his knuckles and the bottom part of his fingers. Warm blood trickled down his fist from the several cuts in his hand. A drop of blood hit the sink and ran down.

"_Shit_," Hux hissed. He knew better than to remove the shards, but he needed to do _something_. He sped over to the door so he could head to the infirmary to get bandages and such. He kept one hand under his wounded one to keep the blood from staining his floor. He opened his door in a swift motion, but instead of walking out, he nearly ran into the broad figure standing in the doorway. His blood ran cold when he realized who it was. They were so close that Hux's hands were out of the taller man's field of view. He slowly lowered his hands, however, to still try to keep his wound concealed. At this point, he didn't care about the blood that was dripping to the ground.

"We need to go see Snoke," Ren said simply. Hux nodded.

"Yes, I was just going there now," Hux lied. Ren furrowed his eyebrows. He sensed a certain distress in him, so he looked down to scan his body. He caught sight of his mangled hand before Hux quickly pulled in behind his back. One of the shards of glass brushed against his pants, causing him to wince. Ren's face turned to alarm as Hux bit his lip.

"You know I saw it," Ren said. He entered his quarters cautiously. Hux turned to face him as he walked around him, still trying to conceal his wound. "Let me take a look. I'll fix it up before we see Snoke so no questions arise." Hux exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding and closed the door. Ren sat at the base of Hux's bed and Hux slowly walked over and joined him. For a brief moment, they sat in silence and simply gazed at each other.

"Let me see," Ren said, breaking the silence between them. Hux slowly brought his hand up to eye level, still balled into a fist to keep the glass from shifting under his skin. Ren straightened himself, not expecting the bloody mess that was Hux's hand. Ren held a gloved hand under his to observe it.

"What happened?" Ren asked. Hux averted his gaze and shook his head. Even through this simple gesture, he knew what he meant. He continued to observe the wound, some of Hux's warm blood seeping onto his glove.

"Do you have a rag or washcloth of some sort? I'm going to pull them out, but I'll need to stop the bleeding," Ren said. Hux nodded and pointed to the bathroom. Ren pulled away his hand and Hux's slowly fell to his lap. Ren started towards the bathroom.

"But you-" Hux called out, but Ren was already in the bathroom. Just as he hoped he wouldn't, Ren saw the shattered mirror. He paused his gaze for a moment and was able to understand everything he needed to know about what happened. He then grabbed the rag that was hanging on the sink. It was still damp from when Hux dried his face. Hux's gaze was fixed to the ground as Ren returned. Ren sat down and took his gloves off then took Hux's wounded hand gently.

"This is probably going to hurt a bit," Ren warned. Hux nodded as Ren pinched the first shard carefully and lifted it out of his skin. Hux closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Warm blood gushed from the wound, but Ren covered it with the rag and applied a careful pressure. Hux was astonished by the gentle nature of his actions.

Ren continued to pull out the remaining shards and suppress the bleeding as Hux sat with his eyes closed, trying not to let the pain get to him. After pulling all the shards out, he put the rag over his knuckles and pushed down gently.

"Just so you know, this is a one time this for something small like this," Ren said. Hux opened his eyes only to see that Ren had closed his. In a matter of seconds, Hux could feel his wounds closing and the blood stop gushing. Hux was rather surprised and almost taken aback. Only, he knew about the force powers the sith possess, so it wasn't that. It was that this was the only one that hasn't been used on him. Ren opened his eyes slowly and pulled away the rag. Hux's once mangled hand was replaced with his milky skin. There was still some residual blood, but overall, it looked better. Hux took his hand away and carefully extended his fingers. There was no harsh sting as there was before. The lack of pain that was once radiating out of his fist was almost intoxicating.

Ren then got up to wet the rag to clean the dry blood left over. While he was by the sink, he washed the blood off his own hands. Ren returned to Hux and began to wipe at the blood. Hux began to relax himself and focused on Ren's touch. He had his left hand under his own and his thumb resting on the top of his fingers. The cold, damp rag brushed his knuckles in a soothing motion. That's when visions began to clutter his mind. There was red, blue, he saw a storm, Han Solo, Rey, Snoke and a certain hatred for him he'd never felt before. Hux quickly withdrew his hand and covered it with his other. Ren looked up to Hux's face to find his frightened, almost offended, expression staring back.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Ren said with alarm. Hux tried to slow his rapid breathing.

"I-I don't," Hux squeezed out. "I saw-I-I don't know." Hux paused and relaxed. "Something happened. Something isn't right." Ren continued to stare at his still frightened face.

"It's okay," Ren said. "I think I know what happened. We'll discuss it later." Hux nodded shakily and looked down at his hand. The blood was finally gone. Hux rubbed his hand and looked back to Ren

"Now," Ren stood, "Let's go see Snoke."

The two tall figures marched the halls of the star destroyer, each with their own assignments from Snoke. General Hux was already barking orders to prepare a fleet to attack the rebel base. Ren was following only a few steps behind him. Hux always took his assignments very seriously, so even Ren had a hard time keeping up. He waited for Hux to pause, even for a moment, but it never came. Ren grabbed Hux's wrist firmly, causing him to jerk back when the rest of his body kept moving. Hux looked back at Ren and snatched his hand away.

"Don't grab me like that," Hux spat and began to turn back around.

"Hux," Ren called out. Hux reluctantly turned back to him. "We still need to discuss what happened earlier." Hux sighed heavily.

"Can't it wait?" Hux said, annoyed. "We both have things to do. Besides, it was probably nothing." Ren shook his head seriously.

"Far from it, I'm afraid," Ben said. "Now come with me." Hux sighed once again and began to follow the taller man. He led him back to Hux's quarters as it wasn't too far away. They sat at the base of his bed as they did earlier.

"Hux," Ren began. His gaze was so heavy and serious that Hux had a hard time maintaining eye contact. "I think the force is calling you." Hux tensed his jaw and furrowed his eyebrows. He looked to the ground and back to Ren.

"No," Hux said simply, "you're mistaken."

"Maybe," Ren shifted in his spot. "I'm want to find out for sure though." Ren focused hard on Hux's face causing Hux to shift awkwardly. He swallowed in anticipation of what was to come. The feeling of an intruder then entered his mind. His first instinct was to throw the intruder out in panic. Ren wavered a bit and exhaled.

"Just relax," Ren said. "I'm just trying to sense the force in you."

"This is pointless Ren," Hux grumbled. "It's nothing, it really is."

"If it's nothing then let me see," Ren said, almost aggressively. Hux swallowed and said nothing, so Ren proceeded. Hux felt him infiltrate his mind once again. It didn't feel right to him, but he took Ren's advice and tried to relax, making things easier for Ren.

"Hux, I feel it," Ren said. Hux thought he almost sounded excited. Ren's eyes were closed and he had a weak smile on his face: a sight Hux had never seen before. Hux felt a flutter in his stomach but he was quick to dismiss it. Ren's face then fell. "It's just… locked away." Ren opened his eyes and gazed at Hux seriously. "Hux, you've been suppressing it." Hux bit his lip and simply stared at Ren's grim expression. He thought about telling Ren he was wrong, but he knew it was no use. It was too blatant of a lie to the man who had just seen into his mind.

"What does it matter?" Hux replied. "I'm not a fighter, I'm a _general_. I couldn't use it if I wanted to." Ren shook his head, but before he could say anything, Hux began again. "It's just a distraction. It's like it's putting thoughts in my head." Hux closed his mouth quickly, not wanting to have said that. Ren furrowed his eyebrows.

"What kinds of thoughts?" Ren asked. Hux stood up and ket out a frustrated growl.

"I can't afford to just sit here and talk, I have things to do," Hux said, "and so do you Kylo Ren."

"Hux stop," Ren said sternly. "I can easily just search your mind again so-"

"Don't you _fucking_ dare!" Hux spat. "I'm never letting you do that again." Ren then stood up as well. Hux felt like he was towering over him despite their few inch height difference.

"I know you're scared Hux," Ren said. "I can help you if you'll just let me, please."

"Don't tell me what I feel. Just leave me alone!" Ren clenched his jaw tightly. Hux saw the focus in his eyes as he felt the intruder in his mind once again. It was stronger this time. Too strong to throw out.

"You don't want that," Ren began. "You've been alone all your life." Hux tensed himself.

"Stop Ren," Hux warned. Ren, however, continued, digging deeper into Hux's mind.

"You're hurting. You long for someone to love you: someone to touch you. A luxury you've never had." That's when Hux snapped. He ran towards Ren and tackled him. Ren fell to the ground hard, Hux on top of him. Hux grabbed him by the shoulders and shook, causing Ren's head to hit the hard floor. Ren grasped Hux's wrists tightly, prying them off his shoulders.

"I don't want to hurt you again," Ren said, "but I will." Hux growled and twisted his wrists out of Ren's grasp. He then wrapped his hands tightly around Ren's throat. Before he could get even one plead out of Ren, he was sent flying across the room. Hux cried out in pain when his back slammed against the wall. He fell to the ground with a thump and watched as Ren stormed out of the room, finally giving Hux what he asked for.


End file.
